Social Communications | Author | Educator | Coach

Don’t hide the good stuff – In life and LinkedIn

I received two emails this week from acquaintances asking for some help and advice on different topics, and loved the opportunity to send them my thoughts, in the hope that it would provide some valuable information and make a positive impact in their lives.

One was from a former-colleague, who was looking for some advice on boosting the social media presence of the company accounts he was now in charge of at a new job, the other from a soon-to-be University graduate student who I’d been offering some guidance to on various topics throughout the year.

The second is the one I want to focus on in this post, as he asked a question that I think could help a number of students and job-seekers in general at this time of year.

His email related to optimising his LinkedIn profile, (which is very impressive for someone so young I must say!) and well, this question:

“I have been given suggestions to leave the information regarding my roles to a minimum, to ensure it allows room to explain to people about the multiple tasks I have completed. Do you agree with this?”

My response in short:

“No, I don’t. Why? Because you should never hide the good stuff.”

My response in more depth looked something like this:

“I agree to an extent with the advice to limit the information so you can expand later. The only thing I will say is that if you exclude something that you have done / can do, that will help you stand out, then it might be risky to presume you will get to the interview stage to be able to explain it later.

“I always tell people ‘don’t hide the good stuff’. I would take this advice particularly when going for certain jobs that have asked for certain skills that you have.

“Make it as easy and simple as possible for potential employers to see that you have what it takes to do the job, because if someone else does, and you haven’t, you are already behind the eight-ball in a very competitive situation.”

This lesson also applies to your web presence on other social media platforms (and this goes for individuals and businesses).

If you want to be known for something: A skill, an interest, an affiliation, or qualification… make that information as easy as possible for people to learn by including it in your ‘bios’, front and centre.

Don’t hide the good stuff.

On a personal note, it’s a great feeling becoming known as a source of value, and being able to coach people on topics that I am passionate about. I take it very seriously.